HOW TO SELL JEWELRY ON EBAY

SHOULD YOU SELL YOUR JEWELRY AND DIAMONDS ON EBAY?

So you’re wondering if you should Sell your Jewelry, Diamonds and Gold on Ebay?

You want to!

What’s Stopping you?

I know, I know, you’re Nervous and don’t know how to go about it.

Should you Try and Attempt it?

I Say YES!

Yes by all means. It’s Fun, it’s Exciting, and it’s Addicting! Once you Sell your First Piece of Jewelry on Ebay, once you get that First Taste, you’ll be Hooked! You’ll Absolutely Love it. You’ll want to run through the Streets and Scream

“Ebay! Ebay! Ebay!”

Everybody wants to Sell Jewelry on Ebay, even my Grandma. She may be old, but She Smells Money to be made.

But then again, so do Hundreds and Thousands of other people with their Used, Beat up, Left-over Jewelry. Some are ‘Like New‘ Wink, Wink. Some are Broken or Chipped. Some are Antique, Lab Created, Gold Plated, and Hand Crafted! You name it!

With so much Jewelry, where do you begin?

That’s what I’m here to tell you…

You Begin with Research!

No way around it. You may have Tons of Jewelry to Sell on Ebay, but knowing what’s Selling and what Price it’s selling for is, well, Priceless!

Start by looking and searching on Ebay for items similar to yours. That’ll quickly tell you if it’s Worth it. If others are Selling it, so can you.

Keep in mind, just because it’s LISTED, doesn’t mean it’s Selling!

And also, if it Sells for $2.00, then Why Bother? (Unless it’s only Worth $2.00!)

Go through each item you want to Sell and see what others are getting for it. Weed out what looks like it will Sell and what Won’t! No use Wasting your Time.

Then look at those Pages of items that Sold. Really look at them. Read their Titles, Sub-Titles, and Descriptions. See how they’re Worded and Formatted. That’ll give you a Good Idea on what Works and what Doesn’t.

Also Note their Starting Bid! Do they Offer any Guarantees? Do they have Lots of Positive Feedback?

Prepare the Goods!

Once you know what you’d like to List, then the Next Trick is to Prepare it. Here’s where you do your homework! You’ll need to get those items Professionally Cleaned and Polished so they look their Best. Items that look brand new will Sell Better! (Unless it’s Vintage. If it’s Old and Antique, leave it as is!) Make your Diamonds and Gemstones Sparkle, it’ll help them look Awesome in the Photos.

Plus no one wants to Purchase a Dirty, Scratched up Ring!

Get it Appraised!

And if the Jewelry is Expensive, like a Diamond Engagement Ring, Get it Appraised. It’s Worth the Money. Plus it’ll help you, because you’re going to need as much Information as Possible to List it.

You’ll need to list things like:

Does it have an Appraisal? Is it Certified? What’s the Diamond Weight? What’s the Color, Clarity and Carat Weight? What’s the Finish? (Polished, Brushed, Hammered?) What’s the Ring Size? What’s the Length of the Chain? What’s the Gram Weight? What’s the Metal? (List the Stamp inside the Ring. i.e. 925, 950, 10kt, 14kt, GF, SS, Plat.) What’s the MM size? i.e. “The Gold band is 8mm wide!”

Buyers will want to know this Stuff. Be Prepared!

Last but not least…

What’s the Condition?

This is a Very Important Step. Here’s where you’ll have to Bite the Bullet and Fess up.

List everything you can. Inform the Shoppers of any Flaws or Concerns. Things like: ‘The Sapphire Stone has a Small Chip in the Side.’ ‘A Prong is Bent.’ ‘A Diamond is Missing.’ Be Truthful! I wouldn’t Harp on the Flaws… You really want to Push it’s Assets, but just State them and move on.

‘The Watch has a Busted Crown.’

‘The Earring has a bent Post.’

‘The Rings are Soldered Together!’

You’ll also need to List the Appraisal Price or Regular Retail Price. People will need to know what it’s Worth before they Bid. And don’t Exaggerate on what it’s Worth. If it Sounds too high, people won’t Buy it.

The more Details you give up Front, the less Questions you’ll have to answer during the Auction later.

Word of Advice:

Don’t Mislead the Customer!

Don’t act like you don’t know the Stone is Chipped. Loupe things with a 10x Jeweler’s Loupe. Know what you’re Selling! Just because you didn’t mention it, doesn’t mean the customer won’t see it.

It’s Stupid and it’s Fraud!

Look at the item well. Don’t Say it has a Slight Crack in it, when it’s Busted in Half. You’ll only end up getting Negative Feedback, more than likely Banned from Ebay, and still have to Return the item for a Full Refund and Pay Shippng Charges! It’s not Worth it.

Play Fair!

Now that you took the time to get all your Eggs in line, it’s almost time to List. But… You have one more Big Step before you go to Ebay.

And that’s…

Great Photos!

Yes, I said Great Photos! More than just one! And not just any Photos, but Great Quality, Close-up Photos.

You want to show the Details Crisp and Clean.

Some people say this is Easy, but Trust me, it’s NOT!

Taking Great Photos of Jewelry for Ebay is a Pain. You’ll need a Digital Camera, Good Lighting, and a Suitable Backdrop.

Jewelry is Hard to Photograph!

I’ve been doing this for a long time now. I know that Jewelry is one of the most Difficult Items to Photograph.

The Photo Light Box

Personally, I use the MK Photobox Digital Imaging System. It’s specifically made for Jewelry Photography (Just like this Photo Light Box Here). I’ve used it almost Daily for 3 years and I Love it.

All the Images of Jewelry for this Website were taken with the Photobox. It Works Great! It Eliminates Hard Shadows and allows me to Bolt my Camera to the Box for top-down Photography.

The Camera I use is a Minolta Dimage 7i

It’s a 5 Mega-Pixel Camera. Anything higher than 5 Mega-Pixels is Not Needed for Displaying Images on the Web. This Camera has a Macro Mode that lets me get Great Close-up Shots. And it has a White Balance setting for Adjusting the Light Source. Not to mention it has a Timer which helps me take Great, Sharp, Non-Blurry, Photos!

Oh, and one Warning about Digital Cameras…

Don’t use the Flash!

It’ll just Ruin your Pictures and give you lots of Harsh Light and Shadows!

Photo Backdrops

Shooting your Jewelry on a Simple Backdrop or Background is the Best!

I shoot mine on the Solid White Backdrop of the Lightbox so it doesn’t pull any Reflecting or Dark Colors into the Gold. Try not to get anything Distracting in the Photos either. “Isn’t that a Beautiful Diamond Ring right next to the Kitchen Sink Full of Dirty Dishes!!!“

Take Different Shots and Multiple Angles and Views.

Make sure to Shoot the underside of the Ring and the Inside of the Shank as well. You’ll want to try to Capture all the Karat Stamps, Hallmarks, and any Identifying Trade Marks. Trust me, people feel more Comfortable Buying if they can actually see the Markings!

Time to Clean your Jewelry!

Once you have all the Photos Taken, Download them to your Computer. You’ll then need to Weed them out. Choose the BEST 5-7 Shots that really show your Ring or Jewelry off well. You may be able to do it with more or less Images, you’ll have to Decide. Then Load those chosen ones into Photoshop or whatever it is you have and Tweak them. Sharpen the Images, Resize them, you may even need to Crop them in. Then Save them as JPEG’s (So they’ll Load Faster Online). No one wants to Wait Hours for your Page to Load!

Next Step: EBAY!

Make sure you list your Jewelry in the Appropriate Category. Ebay’s Jewelry and Watches Categories are:

Body Jewelry

Bracelets

Charms & Charm Bracelets

Children’s Jewelry

Designer Brands

Earrings

Ethnic, Tribal Jewelry

Hair Jewelry

Handcrafted, Artisan Jewelry

Jewelry Boxes & Supplies

Jewelry Sets

Loose Beads

Loose Diamonds & Gemstones

Men’s Jewelry

Necklaces & Pendants

Pins, Brooches

Rings

Vintage, Antique

Watches

Wholesale Lots

They also have an Other Category, but really… WHY?

Next is the Most Important Step of all:

Make sure your Title is a Great One!

“Ruby & Diamond Ring” Is NOT a Good Title!

But “Stunning 4.25ct Ruby & Diamond Ring 14kt Gold” IS!

Ebay allows you up to 55 Characters in its Title, including Spaces. I’d suggest you think up a Great Name to Fill the Size First.

Listing the Item:

Then it’s time to Add in your Description and Photos. List your Appraisal, Certification, (whether it’s “Clarity Enhanced!”), List Everything! You can’t really over do it with Jewelry Descriptions. The More, the Merrier!

Be Honest!

The Most Successful Sellers on Ebay are Honest and Truthful.

They also offer things like: Return Policies, Buy It Nows, Realistic Shipping Charges. They Answer Questions Promptly! They leave Positive Feedback FIRST! (This way they will get Positive Feedback in Return.)

Pointers…

Here are a Couple of Pointers to setting up your Listing: DON’T USE ALL CAPS! It’s Annoying and Horrible and Screams Newbie! Make sure you set all your Auctions to END on Sunday Evening. That’s the BEST Day and Time of the Week to End Auctions. You’ll End up Selling more by doing so, and Making More Money. Sunday Night is when everyone’s Home and Watching the Ebay Auctions End!

Start your Bid Low to Encourage Happy Bidding!

Make sure you Sign up for PayPal, because the number one way to Buy and Sell on Ebay is through PayPal.

You’ll Lose Sales if you don’t!

Highlight any main Keywords in the Description like: “Certified by GIA” It looks awesome in Big, Bold, Red letters!

Check your Spellings!

You’ll never, ever Show up if you list your Ring as a “Saphire” Ring! Spell-Check your Carats, Karats, Gemstones and Names correctly. It’s “Sapphire“! Don’t look like an Idiot!

Answer any Questions Quickly.

A Good Answer could be a Good Buy!

And once it Sells, Remember, Ebay and PayPal will take their Cut of the Profits. And as soon as you get Paid, Ship the Item Promptly! Send it out Immediately and Send it Well Packaged as well. A Flimsy Envelope with Masking Tape Wrapped around it will only get your Ring Lost, Damaged, and Stolen!

Package it in a Box or one of those Bubble Protecting Envelopes! And Insure it Properly!

You never know what will happen to it.

Include with the Item a Copy of the Receipt, your Business Card (or a Thank You Note). You may also want to include Photos of other Merchandise you’re Selling. For we all know, a Happy Customer is a Repeat Customer!

What’s Popular?

If you want to see what’s Popular, Trendy, and Selling on Ebay, check out the ‘Ebay Pulse‘. It’ll let you know what’s HOT and in Demand. Right now, the Hot Items listed are: Rolex, Chanel, Cartier, Tiffany, Watches, Gold and Diamonds!

I think I’ll have me some of those…

Lastly…

Don’t Expect Everything to Sell!

You’re up against the Entire World as Competition. That’s a lot of Jewelry! A Search for the Word ‘Diamond Ring‘ brings up 41,354 Results! Ouch!

To Stand out among other Listings, you may want to Pay a little more and have it Listed as a “Featured Item“. These Listings show up with Color Backgrounds, Rollover Images and they make you Stand out in a Crowd.

If all this Sounds like too much Work for you, then don’t Fret.

You’re Not Alone!

Lots of People can help you out. Ask a Friend or Family Member to help you. But did you know, there’s something even better…

Take it to a Ebay Selling Store!

There are tons of these types of Stores Sprouting up Everywhere (look in your Phone Book) that will get your Items Listed and Sold on Ebay for Minimum Fees.

These Unique Stores and Individuals (also called Trading Assistants Read More on Ebay Here: Hire Trading Assistants) will take your Jewelry, Photograph it, List it, Sell it, Package it, and Ship it out for you, all while you simply sit back and Make the Cash.

Cost will vary from Store to Store, but Average is probably about 10-30% of the Profits.

Just check it out ahead of time so you know their Fees.

Those Selling Stores are really not a Bad Idea if you think about it.

If you don’t have the Time or Energy or Equipment to do it yourself, it’s a Life Saver.

Companies that will handle all the Work load are Great for a Couple of Huge Reasons: They do all the Research needed to List your Item. They List it Correctly and make it Stand out.

They’ll take Professional Photos to make your Merchandise look like a Million Bucks.

They more than likely will have a Really High Ebay Score with Lots of Positive Feedback too.

And they do Follow up and Answer Questions for the Customers! SWEET!

In other Words:

Buyers will Want to Shop with them!

It’s a No-Brainer!

Unless you’re Greedy and think you can do Better, I’d say “Go for it!”